The invention relates to a method for the formation of lumps or pellets containing soda mixtures of raw material for glass, and particularly to such mixtures which pass through a heat exchanger for preheating.
For the production of glass, the costs of energy constitute an appreciable portion of the total costs. A possibility for diminishing the energy costs results by transferring into heat exchangers the residual heat of the furnace exhaust gases to the raw materials for glass so that the latter arrive preheated in the melting tank. For this it is advantageous to supply the raw materials for glass in pellets or lumps rather than in fine-grained or pulverulent form to the smelting furnace.
Methods for making the lumps or pellets of mixtures of raw materials for glass are known such as, for example, from the Offenlegungsschrift No. 25 13 082 incorporated herein by reference. Here, the raw materials for glass with their natural moisture content of about 3% are pressed by a roller press into a material flow which is inserted in adhering manner into the smelting furnace.